Photoshop boost, training and team support in Adobe Creative Cloud update

Adobe revealed a major update to its Creative Cloud offering today, including access to over a dozen exclusive new features for Photoshop, as well as desktop sync, training, expert help and team support for its membership-based service .

The enhanced Crop tool provides new feedback about the size and resolution of the cropped area

At the Create Now online event, the company also introduced a new version, Creative Cloud for teams, as well as showcasing new capabilities for mobile website design with Adobe Muse; launching Creative Cloud Connection for desktop synching and collaborative sharing; debuting Creative Cloud Training, a library of premium instructional video from leading partners; and demonstrating the access to the Digital Publishing technology used by major publishers to create interactive content for the iPad.

New Photoshop CS6 capabilities available to Creative Cloud members, include:

Immediate support for HiDPI (Retina) displays for Apple MacBook Pro. This feature is also made available to perpetual license customers as a free update.

Smart Object support for Blur Gallery and Liquify.

The ability to quickly export CSS code for text and objects from Photoshop mockups, and import colour swatches for website design.

New workflow timesavers including Crop tool refinements.

3D enhancements including improved live (OpenGL) previews of shadow effects, image-based lighting (IBL) and additional control over illumination using 32-bit colour picker to create glow effects.

Photoshop can make use of IBL (Image Based Lights) which use an image as a light source. In this case using IBL makes the 3D type blend more effectively with the background.

Also available, Creative Cloud for teams is designed to help creative professionals work better together. Creative Cloud for teams delivers everything that’s included with the individual version of Creative Cloud – all of the same desktop tools, online services for publishing and file sharing, and upgrades and feature updates when they are released. Plus it also includes easy management of virtual workgroups, 100GB of cloud storage per user (versus 20GB for the individual Creative Cloud offering), expert support services, centralised administration for the quick and easy deployment of new seats, and centralised billing and efficient license management.

Other new Creative Cloud additions include an update to Adobe Muse, the desktop app that allows designers to create HTML websites without writing code. Adobe Muse now includes the ability to create unique layouts for desktop, iPhone, iPad and other mobile device versions of a website. Designers can now customise each experience whether the site is viewed on a large monitor while sitting at a desk, or viewing on a small screen while on-the-go.Also added is a desktop sync app, Creative Cloud Connection, which allows users to automatically sync files to a Creative Cloud account by saving files to the desktop folder, or simply dragging and dropping.

Training

In addition, new exclusive Creative Cloud Training (available to all paid Creative Cloud members soon) offers an extensive library of tutorials and trial courses from renowned training partners, Kelby Training, video2brain and Attain, designed to help make Creative Cloud members successful with the tools and services available to them. These select partners, along with Adobe, will provide training videos for an international Creative Cloud audience in English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish and Italian, with more languages to be added later. AAdobe Illustrator is also being updated to support HiDPI (Retina) displays. This feature is available to both Creative Cloud members and perpetual license customers.

During Adobe’s Create Now online event, the company demonstrated core Creative Cloud capabilities, including Digital Publishing Suite (DPS), Single Edition. DPS, Single Edition significantly simplifies the mobile app development process by enabling designers to create and deliver digital publications to iPad through the Apple App Store, without writing a single line of code. With DPS, Single Edition members can create single-issue content, including brochures, catalogs or personal design portfolios, and submit an unlimited number of apps to the Apple App Store for publication, at no additional cost. This gives freelance designers, design agencies and small-to-midsize businesses easy access to the same core digital publishing technologies that leading publishers worldwide are using.

The new Photoshop and Adobe Muse features, Creative Cloud Training, and Creative Cloud Connection preview are immediately available to Creative Cloud members. Creative Cloud now has more than 1 million free and paid memberships, including approximately 326,000 paid individual members who have signed up through November 2012

“It’s been remarkable to see over 1 million users join Creative Cloud in just seven months,” said David Wadhwani, senior vice president, Digital Media, Adobe. “Our goal is to make Creative Cloud the ultimate hub for creatives, where they can access the world’s best creative tools, store and collaborate around their work and ultimately showcase their creations. Now with the availability of the new Creative Cloud offering for teams, we’re making it easier for workgroups to create and collaborate.”

Adobe Creative Cloud membership for individuals is £38.12 (ex VAT) per month based on annual membership; existing customers who own CS3 or later get their first year of Creative Cloud for individuals at the discounted rate of £22.22 (ex VAT) per month. Students and teachers can get Creative Cloud for £22.46 per month.

Creative Cloud for teams is available for purchase on Adobe.com/uk; annual memberships are also available worldwide through a growing network of Adobe certified resellers. Creative Cloud for teams is priced at £53 (ex VAT) per month per seat with an annual contract required; existing customers who own CS3 or later get their first year of Creative Cloud for teams at the discounted rate of £38.12 per month per seat.

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